Longines bauhaus franken ?

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ivan11

·Jul 13, 2022

Nice greetings to everyone. I would like ask you for your opinion on the watch I am looking.
Case diameter 38mm, 18k gold.
I wonder if the case without markings can be original, and if the dial has been restored. Hands also seem to be changed.
Price is good, only the price of gold plus €100.
Thank you

 

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DirtyDozen12

·Jul 13, 2022·Thanks, mystery donor!

The dial looks original (see another example below). I agree, the hands do not look original. The case is not Swiss so it would not have left the factory as it is. However, the case could be period correct. I do not recall seeing a similar, locally-made gold case with a fixed back and removable bezel. If it really is 18K gold, 100 EUR seems reasonable given that the dial is also original. May I ask in which country the seller is located? It would be neat to see an extract for this watch.


https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/...2-68z-fake.1095027/#lg=thread-1095027&slide=6

 

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ivan11

·Jul 13, 2022

Thank you for your reply. The seller is an acquaintance of mine who is also a jeweler. we are from Croatia. He did a test with some solution and it showed 18 carat gold. weight is 13 grams. My one concern is that it's not gold plated, because it scraped only surface for the test.
So the case should have some marking and reference if it is original Longines?!

 

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Tony C.

·Jul 13, 2022·Ωf Jury member

It is very likely to be solid gold. There are hallmarks, and pearlage (the small swirls on the inside), which one would not typically find on plated cases.

 

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ivan11

·Jul 13, 2022

I will try to send an inquiry to Longines based on the serial number. The colleague first wanted to melt the watch.

 

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DirtyDozen12

·Jul 13, 2022·Thanks, mystery donor!

I am surprised that the watch is being offered to you for 100 EUR, as 13 grams of 18K gold is seemingly worth closer to 500 EUR (13 g x 55 EUR/g x 0.75): https://goldprice.org/gold-price-euros.html

An original Longines case-back (18K from the 1940s) should resemble the one below. I have added some labels in red.

https://watchestobuy.com/images/Longines13ZnPulsationb.JPG

 

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Tony C.

·Jul 13, 2022·Ωf Jury member

DirtyDozen12

I am surprised that the watch is being offered to you for 100 EUR

"the price of gold plus €100"

 

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ivan11

·Jul 13, 2022

thank you both. It would cost me around €600. it's a pity that the case is not original.

 

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ivan11

·Jul 13, 2022

DirtyDozen12 , I own a similar watch as from your post. the watch was bought in Czechoslovakia in 1942.

 

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DirtyDozen12

·Jul 13, 2022·Thanks, mystery donor!

ivan11

DirtyDozen12 , I own a similar watch as from your post. the watch was bought in Czechoslovakia in 1942.

That is a fantastic watch, thank you for sharing. It is neat to learn that it originally went to Czechoslovakia.

 

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bubba48

·Jul 14, 2022

Same case

 

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ALEJANDRO BOVONE

·Jul 15, 2022

luckily the outer hallmarks are still visible. due to their position, many times they disappear through wear. those hallmarks will provide information of which country was licensed to produce the case. possibly a license hallmark and a gold graduation as well. many countries had to import the movement and gold restrictions were privative so it was more convenient to have a local license to produce the cases in gold.

 

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gatorcpa

·Jul 15, 2022·ΩF InvestiGator

ivan11

thank you both. It would cost me around €600. it's a pity that the case is not original.

I'm not sure if the case is original or not. I can't identify those hallmarks to a specific country. The picture is out of focus and the case has been heavily polished.

Many watch companies chose to export only the movement and have watches locally cased to save on customs. This was especially true in the US, UK, French and Argentine markets. The hallmarks are not UK and US models almost always had some licensing information inside, so I don't think this watch went there.

If Longines shows the movement as having been exported to South America, the case could very well be original.

Let's wait and see.
gatorcpa

 

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ivan11

·Jul 15, 2022

Alejandro, Gatorcpa thank you for the useful information. Hallmarks are barely visible, I will try to take a closer look at them one more time.

 

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ivan11

·Jul 22, 2022

Here is the answer from Longines:

 

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DirtyDozen12

·Jul 22, 2022·Thanks, mystery donor!

ivan11

Here is the answer from Longines:

Thank you for this update/information. It would be interesting to explore gold hallmarks from Bratislava to see if they match the ones on the case. I know of Longines chronographs where the extract mentions a steel case but the watches have French-made gold cases. I suppose it is possible that this 12.68Z underwent the same "transformation" when it was new.

 

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keepschanging

·Jul 22, 2022

This is one of my absolute favourites

 

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ivan11

·Jul 23, 2022

I would like to add extract related to my steel watch with similar dial. Case number 22097.

 

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keepschanging

·Jul 23, 2022

Here's my archive extract and some other pics

PS mine is the jumbo version - the smaller ones are more common - which ones are yours above?

 

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ivan11

·Jul 23, 2022

Thank you for sharing pics!
Mine are also jambo version, here is Omega 35mm for comparison.